The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

“Oh.. So that’s the reason. I feel sorry for her..” Emma muttered to herself. She knew the girl named Charlotte. She was one of the popular girls who belonged to the gossip girl gang that lately often tried to make Poppy the target of their bullies. Luckily, Poppy was friends with Emma.

“I don’t think people like that are to be pitied, Emma. There’s never a right reason to hurt anyone else. If she does have a violent background, she shouldn’t take it out on someone who doesn’t know anything.” Kathy said.

“RED BAND!!”

“Ah.. My drink is ready,” Kathy mumbled as she rose from her chair as the cafe barista shouted the name written on her glass.

Not long after, Kathy was back at her desk with a large tall plastic cup filled with a black drink and much ice.

“What is Red Band?” Emma asked confused.

“That’s my pseudonym on the internet. Hahaha ..” Kathy answered.

“Your drink...” Emma muttered.

.....

Kathy looked down at her drink, “Oh.. This is a five-shot Iced Americano.” she said casually before sucking on the straw embedded in the plastic cup.

“I was going to ask why you’re drinking that much-iced drink in this freezing cold. But now I’m also blown away by how many shots you put in it.” Emma said in amazement.

“I have to cool my brain up because it’s still boiling up from last night’s hacking war with another group. Ah.. that was so much fun. And you know what? I won! Ha!” She folded her arms in front of her chest with shoulders raised.

“Really? Then, congratulations! You’re awesome, Kathy..” Emma praised with a warm smile, also felt happy to see the progress of her friend in the job field she really liked. Seeing Kathy made Emma even more motivated to become a professional in the world of ballet.

After a few minutes of talking together, a girl in a maroon coat came to their table. Her hair was wavy at the bottom, tied in a ponytail with accessories of two small crystal balls on the rubber, “Hi ladies.. Sorry I’m late,”

“Oh, hey, Poppy. It’s okay. We’re not having an important meeting, anyway.” Emma replied by shifting slightly to give Poppy space to sit.

“You’re pretty, as usual, Poppy. If only I could dress up like that..” Kathy muttered weakly as she looked at Poppy who was now sitting beside Emma.

“Sure you can dress up like this, Kathy. All you have to think about is whether it suits your taste and whether you have enough will to do it.” Emma winked.

“Thanks for the sarcasm, Emma. I really feel like you’re a true friend now.” Kathy rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee.

Emma and Poppy couldn’t help but laugh. Of course, there were many girls like Kathy in this world. Those who always admire, even envy the beauty of other girls. Want to have good skin, hair, and body. On the other hand, they were too lazy to take care of themselves and did not lead a healthy life.

“Anyways, how about your project, Poppy?” Emma asked.

Poppy shook her head and sighed, “It’s not as easy as I thought, Emma. It turns out that nowadays, it’s rare for kids to take private ballet lessons. They want public ballet classes so they can practice together with other kids.”

“Of course, it is, Poppy. Because practising together with friends is more fun than practising alone. I also, if it weren’t for you guys, might have given up on college ballet classes a long time ago.” Kathy added.

“So what’s your next plan, Poppy? You’re not going to give up on this project, are you? I’ll help you if you need to in any way.” Emma asked seriously.

Poppy shook her head, “Of course not, Emma. Ballet is something too important that I can’t give up, even by the greatest obstacle.” She replied. Perhaps, the hardest thing that made her ever give up on ballet was the incident that at that time required her to become a porn star.

“If that’s what the market wants, then I’ll have to go along with it so the business can run. Right now, I’m looking for a place to open my own ballet studio. My mom said she would help with the initial funding. But of course, I still had to find the cheapest one. Because, it is very likely that the initial capital wouldn’t be returned quickly.” Poppy continued.

“Okay. Then I’ll help you look for it. Maybe Calvin can provide some good information too, since he often wanders around Handway City a lot. Then, I’ll ask him.” Emma replied.

Kathy nodded, “I’ll help you search from the internet too.”

“Thanks for the help, girls.” Poppy said, then, she glanced at the clock on her cellphone, “Oh.. the reservation time will start in an hour. Looks like we can go to the salon now.”

“Right.. It’s almost 1 pm, huh?” Kathy muttered, glancing at her watch as well.

As Poppy promised that time, she finally invited Emma and Kathy to go to her favourite salon. Before, Poppy always went with her girl friends who were among the campus popular girls. But now, she discovered that those girls were not her real friends.

As soon as she arrived at the salon, Kathy looked amazed with her mouth wide open. Poppy’s salon was huge and luxurious. All her life, Kathy only went to the salon to cut her hair. Because of that, she was amazed to see a special salon for full body treatment which was quite different from a salon that only provided barber services.

Emma was also happy that she found a good salon in Handway City. Well.. Although the salon she used to go to in the city where she lived before, was still better, the salon she visited this time felt very special because she came with her best friends.

“Shh.. Poppy! You didn’t tell me whether this salon was expensive or not.” Kathy whispered, starting to worry about her wallet. It felt no need to guess more to know that the cost of treatment in such a luxurious salon would definitely be expensive.

Poppy chuckled, “Calm down, Kathy. I brought you here because this salon belongs to my aunt. So, all our treatments are free.” she smiled.

“Wow!! Really?! This is awesome!” Kathy exclaimed in joy. So far, one of the reasons why she didn’t want to go to a salon was because of the cost, which according to her, was quite expensive. Kathy preferred to use her money to buy computer hardware and software rather than going to a salon.

“But, is this ok, Poppy? Is it usually like this?” Emma asked, a little worried. Emma was afraid that Poppy would get into trouble with her aunt. She knew this kind of treatment was not cheap.

Poppy nodded, “Whenever I bring my friends, we will definitely get unlimited free treatment. It’s a common thing.” Then, she thought to herself, “Maybe that’s also the reason why the girls want to go to the salon with me,”

“Even if I had to pay, I’d still choose to go with you, Poppy. You’re such a nice person to talk with. I think the girls think so too,” Emma said gently by patting Poppy’s shoulder a few times, “Don’t put yourself down, Poppy. Lift your chin up. You are a special girl. Remember that.” she continued by raising her own chin, for example.

***

“Wow.. It seems that you exercise a lot, huh..” Said the woman who worked at the salon to Emma.

Poppy and Kathy, who were having the same body treatment in the same room, immediately turned to Emma.

“Haha.. You’re right. My muscles are a bit hard, huh?” Emma answered awkwardly.

The salon woman shook her head, “No.. not really. This is a very perfect muscle shape and describes a good sport.” she said with a small laugh. Of course, the muscles of the lady she was massaging were as hard as those of a bodybuilder. But, she did not dare to openly mention it in front of the guest’s face.

“Oh, Emma. I saw that you had quite some bruises on your body. How did you actually fall?” Kathy continued to ask.

“That’s right, Emma. I’m actually a little curious, too.” Poppy added. At first, she wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so because she was afraid that Emma would be offended. But in the end, the question was asked by Kathy without any burden at all.

Hearing the questions from her two friends, Emma then laughed awkwardly. In her heart, she was frantically thinking about what to answer. Because she was lulled by the comfort of being around with her two girl friends, Emma seemed to forget that she was a Black figure who often fought that causing her body to be covered in bruises. Emma even forgot the condition of her current appearance when she easily accepted Poppy’s offer to do body treatments at the salon together.

“I.. I...” Emma mumbled before she thought about an idea that should have come to her mind earlier, “I practised ballet and acrobatics by myself at home. Actually, during this time, I often practice at home and fall a lot. Because of that, my body has some bruises.”

“Acrobatic?” Kathy repeated with a frown.

Emma nodded quickly, “When I was little, before getting to know ballet, I used to like acrobatics like those in circus shows. Actually, I’m embarrassed to admit this.. But, when I was practising alone, I tried to experiment by combining ballet and acrobatics. Hahaha. ” she lied. She didn’t care anymore if Kathy and Poppy would think that she was a freak. It’s better than she couldn’t answer their confusion. After all, they have also become friends now.

“Gosh.. You’re so funny, Emma. I didn’t know you could come up with such a unique idea.” Poppy laughed.

“You’re right, Poppy. I knew for a long time that Emma couldn’t be that sane. Everyone indeed has a crazy side of themself! It turns out that Emma is a normal human too.” Kathy continued with a big laugh.